Means for removing foreign matter from drill holes



Nov- 2 1953 L. GAGE ET AL MEANS FOR REMOVING FOREIGN MATTER FROM DRILL HOLES Filed Sept. 28, 1951 FIG. I.

IN VENTOR Patented Nov. 24, 1953 FOR-REMOVING FOREIGN FROM DRILL HOLES Eonnieh. Gageand Clarence'L; Nelson, Snyder, Tex.

Application.September28, 1951, Serial N0.-24 8,678e e Gl'aims. (o1. i66=19 The.- present invention relates to a means, for removing foreign matter from QiL Water'and similar wells, and more particularly has reference to amethod of and meansfor removing the cones andyjunk fromitheholein a single operation.

important object of the present invention is t'oprovidemeans for isolating the lower area ofl. theZ-hole and directing, fluid. into the isolated area, whereby, the fluid pressure will force the "cones?" and; junk to a poi'ntbeyond the isolatiedi area. and prevent the,removed cones and junk? from re-j-ent'ering, the isolated area.

Yet another. object of the invention is to provideia; tool forv usein the drilling'fi'eldvwhich is adapted. to becl'owered' into the hole by the use of conventional drill pipe, the tool being provided withjmeansto isolate that portion of the hole below. the tool and with further means to direct fluid; into the isolated area, the fluid serving to directlthe cones and"junk "into thetool, which is provided with further means to retain the cones and "junk? within the tool. I

And still a further object of the invention is toprovide, a, tool for use in drilling which incli des means for directing fluid downwardlygangularly andjupwardlyrespecting the tool whereby the cones and; junk will be forced into the;

tfooli.

Yet a further, object of the. presentinvention is tozprovid'ela tool which is provided; with means therein .forireceiving, and retaining small junk bitsJWhich. are. forced} into the tool,v and with manufactured.

With the.- foregoing and other objects in view, thevinvention consists inthe details of construc tion,-. andeingthe arrangement and combination of partsatmbe hereinafter morefully'set forth and- In describing ;theinvention. in detail, reference:

will befhad:to:-the:a'ccompanying,drawings form'- impart; of", this application, ,wherein like 'charac ters denote corresponding parts in: the several viewsgzandiimwhich:

Figpre; z 11 is atview in side elevation, partly in section,iandhpartlyabroken away; of .theipreferred formlofi the -invention, the assemblage being; depicted in operative relationship withinahole,

2\ Figure 2 is a fragmentalview, partly sec and partly broken away, illustrating thesal 7 features of the invention, and b Figure 3 is a sectional view. taken along the' 'liiie 33 of Figure 2', looking in the direction of the arrows, and,, v t b Figure 4 is a top" plan view'on an enlarged scare of the joint to which theTSti'ng'er is" tt'taiclie- Referring to the drawings and more part1 larly to Figure 1, a hole is designated IOL I I" de notes the drill assemblage generally, and II a joint connecting'the assemblage. ll tojvthe lower endof a standard drill pipesection, by

The assemblage I'I' comprises a" cirj'cu1afborly portion l3 of suitable materiahthe diame n ofthe body portionbeing slightly less than. the d1; ameter of' thehol'e' m, and theu pereuq,or1t1ie' body I3 is reduced in' diameter, asat. l4, s'othfaifi it may be threadedly attached to theconventiona joint section I2. The lower end of the" body' l{3= is open, as indicated'at l5, and'anannularpaclieff or gasket I6 is lodged'iii a peripheral gifOOVGiI T a-shortdistance above-the open-lower end I 5, the purpose of the packerf'heingl to isolate the" a of the hole below thepack'erso astopre'vent fluid from being discharged upwardly of the hole te-- tween the body-portion" l3 andth'ehOI'e' W511, willlater be morefullydescrib'edi, I g H A pair of diametricallyopposed fiuidfco iduits l8 extend'longitudiriallyfofithe body I'Sand'fr a point slightly'a'bove a horizontally extend ng? plate l9 toa point below'theopen end [51 Theconduits 18 may be rigidly'secur'edito the ii'irierwall of the body'p'orti'on l 3jby' welding',brazing; or any other suitable meansia'nd these conduits? are of conventional m'ateriali Asp'erhaps'jmoie clearly shown in Figur'e'Z; thei-lower end" of'ea'cii'; conduit 18 is bent'in'wa'r'dlji, as at'zflgan'dis suit? ably'attached to a stinger j or mill 2|, as-wm hereinafter be more fiilly described. 'Ihe stinger 2| functidnstodirectfiuid jets-intOtheT isolated area of the hole for; the purpose: of met-- ing; the foreign matter 'into 'the bodyportioii' [3 A plurality of gerszziai eipivotauy mounted to the inner Wall of the bbdyjportion la ntproximity to the open'end I5, the fin'gersfbeinglriiby; able forwardly; ab'oiit a h'ori'z'on'tal axis}. and a" spring 23 connected, to' each finger and to" the wall of the body l3'serves to riormally'maint'ain each finger in the position s'hown' by the fulllines in Figure 2, yet permit itto move to the broken: line position The fingers 22"functio'n t'o admit" thefcones into the body pqitioh anWDTEYerifi them-from. leaving thein-t'erior of tlife body.- por i f tion when the fingers arejin the ruuaiine-posiuen:

At a point below the plate I9, it will be noted that a truncated conical member or basket 24 is conveniently attached to the inner wall of the body portion |3, the basket being provided with apertures 25 for receiving fluid conduits IS. The basket 24 serves to receive and retain the junk admitted into the interior of the body portion, the junk being deposited in the space between the walls of the basket and the inner wall of the body portion. A plurality of holes or ports 26 communicate with the space between the wall of the body portion l3 and the wall of the basket to provide a fluid outlet above the packer I6.

The "stinger 2| includes a hollow tapered body 21 which is internally threaded adjacent its upper end, as shown at 28, to receive external threads 23 on a joint 30 to which the ends 29 :of the fluid conduits l8 are attached. A nozzle l3| which is directed upwardly toward the body portion l3 is carried by the tool joint 30, and a downwardly directed nozzle 32 is fitted into the lower open end of the body 21 for the purpose of washing cuttings or junk from the bottom of "the hole 10. More specifically, the joint 33 is provided with three openings therein in which the ends of the conduits I8 and the nozzle 3| are fixed. The openings for the ends of the conduits l8 are denoted |8A and the opening for the nozzle 3! is shown at 3|A as best depicted in Figure 4.

It will also be noted that the wall of the body 21 is provided with opposed apertures 33 and 34, the aperture 33 being directed upwardly with respect to the hole wall while the aperture 34 is directed downwardly. A nozzle 35 may b fixed in the aperture 33 in order that fluid may be directed upwardly, and the aperture 34 may be closed by a screw or the like 36. Intermediate the apertures 33 and 34 and the nozzle 32, the body portion is further provided with opposed apertures 31 and 38, an upwardly directed nozzle 39 being fixed in the aperture 38 while the aperture 31 is closed by a screw 40. The nozzles 35 and 39 will tend to wash the cuttings or junk and cones upwardly toward the interior of the body l3 in a manner to be more fully described. A bit 4 preferably of the fishtail type is rigidly attached to the lower end of the body portion l3 and extends downwardly therefrom. The bit 4! will have a tendency to roll the cones or junk around and assist them in entering the interior I of the body portion |3.

In order to facilitate the removal of the cones from the interior of the body portion l3 and also from the basket 24, the body portion intermediate the basket and the joint l2 may have a threaded connection to permit such intermediate area to be removed from the remainder of the body portion. It will further be appreciated that it is possible to replace either of the nozzles 35 and 39 by removing the screws 36 and 49, respectively, after which the respective nozzles may be knocked out through the apertures 34 and 21. The new nozzle for the aperture 33 is inserted by placing it through the aperture 34, and the same applies to the nozzle lodged in the aperture 38. This permits the new parts to be easily and quickly installed at a minimum cost.

In operation, assuming that the body portion l3 has been coupled to the lowermost drill pipe section by means of the joint l2 and the body portion has been lowered to the position shown in Figure 1, fluid is admitted into the drill pipe sections. By reason of the solid plate I9, all of the fluid will be directed into the conduits l8 and enter the stinger 2| through the joint 30. By

virtue of the manner in which the nozzles 3|, 32, 35 and 39 are located on the stinger 2|, it can be seen that the nozzles 32, 35 and 39 will force the cones and junk upwardly into the path of the upwardly directed nozzle 3| whereby the nozzle 3| will force the cones and junk against the resiliently mounted fingers 22. Manifestly, the fingers 22 will pivot upwardly so that the cones and junk will enter the interior of the body portion l3 and the jun will ultimately be deposited in the space between the basket 24 and the inner periphery of the body portion l3. When the pressure of the springs 23 is suificient to overcome the action of the upwardly directed material, the springs will urge the fingers downwardly and thus trap or prevent the cones from entering the area between the lower end of the body portion l3 and the bottom of the hole In. By imparting a rotary motion to the body portion l3 with the rotary table, the fishtail bit 4| will also tend to roll the cones and small junk into the path of the nozzle 3|.

It can be seen, therefore, that with the present invention, the flow of fluid i directed into the isolated space between the tool and the bottom of the hole, whereupon the fluid and foreign matter is forced into the hollow body of the tool with the flow of fluid and is entrapped in the body. The fluid escapes from the tool through the outlet ports 26 which communicate with the hole bore at a point above the packer l6. By virtue of the stinger 2| and the manner in which the nozzles are supported by the stinger, it is possible to efiectively remove the cones and junk in the isolated area and force them into the interior of the tool.

This invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modification mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An assembly for removing cones and junk from a drill hole comprising a hollow body portion provided with open ends adapted to be lowered into the hole in proximity to the bottom thereof, packing means carried by the body portion adapted to cooperate with the wall of the hole to isolate the area of the hole below said packing means, conduit means extending longitudinally of the body portion to a point below one of the open ends of the said hollow body portion, a hollow support connected to said conduit means at the point below the body portion, nozzles supported by the hollow support for directing fluid against the walls of the hole, further nozzle means on the support for directing fluid into the interior of the body portion, a basket within the body portion for trapping the junk, yieldably mounted fingers pivotally attached to the body portion adapted to permit the junk and cones to be admitted into the interior of the body portion, and means to direct fluid through said conduit means whereby the nozzles will direct the cones and junk toward the further nozzle means for forcing the cones and junk" into the body portion wherein the basket will trap the junk and the yieldably mounted fingers will trap the cones.

2. An assembly as defined in and claimed by claim 1 further characterized in that fluid outlet ports provided in the hollow body portion communicate with the basket at a point above the packing means. I

4. An assembly as defined in and claimed by 0 claim 1 further characterized in that at least some of the nozzles provided for said hollow support are directed angularly upwardly.

5. An assembly as defined in and claimed by claim 1 further characterized in that the lower 1 end of said hollow body portion is provided with a bit rigidly secured thereto.

6. An assembly as defined in and claimed by claim 1 further characterized in that said yield- 6 able fingers are mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis.

LONNIE L. GAGE, CLARENCE L. NELSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,853,379 Rotinofl Apr. 12, 1932 2,090,616 Erwin Aug. 24, 1937 2,159,249 Brantly May 23, 1939 2,220,989 Brauer Nov. 12, 1940 2,550,080 Moore Apr. 24, 1951 

